The Vampire's Web
by Sakura Neko-Chan 13
Summary: Alucard has brought a new charachter from a different story. However, Raoul and Erik will follow her and turn Hellsing upside down. Phantom of the Opera X Hellsing crossover. T for violence, language and charachter death. Full summary inside.
1. La Donna Del Lago

**Disclaimer: Well, we don't live in Japan **_**or**_** France, so we obviously don't own Hellsing or Phantom of the Opera.**

**This is a collaboration between XFamousXLastXWordsX and Sakura Neko-Chan 13.**

**Sakura: Well, this will be interesting...**

**Last Words: Yes, it will, Saku-chan. **

**Sakura: Okay, so, full summary:**

**Summary: In the streets of London, the vampire Alucard has brought a new character from another story. Christine has caught Alucard's eye. However, her two lovers will follow from the halls of the Opera Populaire and try to take her back. With Erik and Raoul facing Alucard, the Hellsing organization will turn upside down in a web of romance and war. Phantom of the Opera/Hellsing crossover. T for violence, language and pretty much everything else. Obviously AU.**

**Last Words: On with the deadly tale!**

**La Donna Del Lago**

_(The Lady of the Lake)_

"I don't want to see an opera!" Seras stared at the dress she had been given. "And I'd look terrible in this."

"Well, I do. And so does Sir Hellsing. So you'll do as I say, Police Girl."

"I wouldn't have come if I knew we were going to see an _opera._"

"You were eager to come to Paris before. You can't come to Paris and not see an opera. So, you're going to see it."

"You _can _come to Paris and not torture yourself with singing that you don't understand. Lots of people do it."

"Not us. Now get dressed." Alucard stepped out of the room and shut the door.

Seras scowled, and, glaring at the pink and frilly dress lying on the bed, got dressed.

* * *

"So she didn't like the idea much?"

Alucard grinned. "It doesn't matter. I'm sure she'll change her mind."

Alucard was dressed in a tux, while Integra wore a flowing silver dress.

Seras finally exited the room, looking awkward in the frills of her dress. "And I hate my outfit."

Integra simply raised an eyebrow at Alucard.

"Really, Alucard? It doesn't seem like it yet."

"She will. All girls love operas."

"_This _one does not." Seras scowled at the vampire menacingly.

"Have you ever even seen one, Ms. Victoria?"

"Yes, I think so... it was when I was little."

"You'll appreciate it better now. Hurry up, or we'll be late."

"And I thought it would be nice to go to Paris..."

"And it will be nice to be in Paris."

The three stood outside, Seras trying her best not to be noticed by the passing crowds. Most people were polite enough not to say anything, but a small girl saw her and said something to her mother in french, laughing. The mother scolded her and quickened her pace.

By the time the cab arrived, Seras wished she had brought her gun. That way, she could find whoever made this dress and get rid of them before their insanity hurt anyone else.

The three arrived at the Populaire a few minutes later. Walking inside, they noticed huge sculptures from Greek and Roman mythology. Most of the sculptures were missing heads or other various extremities.

"I don't see how this is art." Seras looked at the odd sculptures in confusion.

Integra sighed. "In a sense, it's not. These statues are very old, and they represent a dead religion. However, some of these pieces are very well done. They look almost as if they could come to life."

Seras stared at a statue of Artemis with her bow, and tried to see what Integra was talking about. "Um, if you say so..."

They continued on to their seats in the box they had reserved. and waited for the play to begin.

Seras was staring at the crystal chandelier. "So what's this thing called anyway?"

"La Donna Del Lago. The Lady of the Lake."

"Sounds like something from a Camelot story."

She looked around the crowded theater, and noticed a young man sitting in another box. He had shoulder-length brown hair, and looked like he was in his early twenties.

Before anything else could happen, a burst of sound issued from the pit, and the crimson curtains swept to the sides.

* * *

Alucard wasn't paying much attention to the performance, until he heard a new voice start to sing. He focused his gaze on the figure...

And saw a girl with cascades of brown hair and a face like an angel. He grinned maliciously, and watched her for the rest of the play. She played only a small part, but it was obvious that there was a serious rivalry between her and the main soprano.

He noticed something else, as well. There were two other people watching the girl.

* * *

Erik watched Christine, cursing silently at the idiocy of the managers. They _still_ didn't understand that Christine was much better than Carlotta. Carlotta understood, though. She tried her best to make sure Christine got nothing better than a chorus part.

She was failing.

Christine may not be the lead, but she still had solos.

Erik looked over at Raoul. The foolish boy still hadn't noticed him. He cursed Christine's love for Raoul. Erik knew that he had to persuade her to fall in love with him, but right now, Erik had no idea how to do this.

When the curtain closed at the end of the final act, Erik swiftly left the box and went to his hiding place in her room. He waited for her, but she never appeared.

* * *

Applause exploded across the theater when the final curtain came down. Even Seras was shouting for an encore. Integra just smiled.

"Well, I guess that's it then. We'll go back to London tomorrow."

"Actually, Master, I'd like to head back early." Alucard was still looking at the stage, as if he could see past the thick velvet of the curtain. "It'd be nice to sleep in my own coffin tonight."

"Fine. But report to my office as soon as Ms. Victoria and I return."

With a grin, Alucard disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

Raoul burst into the dressing room. "I know you're in here! You can't evade me forever!"

But no one was in the dressing room but Christine. She walked out of the dressing portion of her room and approached Raoul.

"Who were you yelling about?"

"Oh, no one." Raoul looked around the room to make sure that only Christine was in the room.

"Really, Raoul, no one is here. Just me." Christine looked around the room as well.

"I know, Christine. I just wanted to confirm my suspicions."

"What did you need to think of the performance?" Christine went over to her make-up table and commenced brushing her hair.

"You sang like an angel." Raoul followed her over to the table.

He stopped behind her, watching her face in the mirror.

Behind both of their reflections, a shadow was forming. The darkness swirled.

"Raoul... what's going on?"

Raoul turned around, trying to hide Christine behind him. "I don't know."

A pair of eyes watched them from the vortex. Slowly, a figure emerged. The man was tall, dressed in a tux.

"Who are you?" Raoul was trying to keep from shouting, and he could tell Christine was scarred.

"Not anyone of importance." He stepped forward, knocking Raoul across the head. As Raoul hit the floor, he could hear Christine crying. That was the last he saw of her.

**Sakura: Cliffy! Wow, Alucard was kinda OOC... then again, I always thought that pretty much anything you could have him do wouldn't be OOC. Turning Seras into a vampire was OOC, he even admitted it. So anything else would be normal. **

**Last Words: Alucard can be normal? 0.0 What would that look like, I wonder?**

**Sakura: Um... Idunno. Anyway, we have a poll-type thing. See, it's obvious that people who have seen Hellsing and Phantom of the Opera (PotO) will read this if it looks good... but I think that people who have seen PotO and not Hellsing will read it, while people who have seen Hellsing but not PotO will not. So, have you:**

**A. Seen both PotO and Hellsing**

**B. Seen only PotO**

**C. Seen only Hellsing**

**I just wanna see if I'm right. ;- D**

**R'n'R**

**Sakura Neko-Chan 13 & XFamousXLastXWordsX**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: No person in their right mind would ever mix a story they actually owned with a different story. Of course, we're not exactly in our right minds, but I'm sure insane people can't hold down that kind of job.**

**Saku-Chan: FINALLY we get a chance to write Ch. 2. Okay, some notes:**

**Please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE review! I know that PotO/Hellsing is a little unorthodox and not many people read it all the way through, but if you do finish even one chapter, say something. Even if you say we suck (though it'd be nice if you told us why.)**

**This will update slow, because it's a collaboration fic. We **_**both**_** need to be there to write it (or else it becomes a completely different writing style from the other chapters), and our schedules hate each other. Sooo... sorry bout that. If you care.**

**LastXWords: I certainly hope they care. I mean, why even bother reading the second chapter if they hated the first?**

**Saku-Chan: Insane boredom. People do all sorts of crazy things when they're bored enough.**

**LastXWords: I should know about being bored enough. Latin was such a bore.**

**Saku-Chan: Ugh, Latin II... I'll shoot the Harkonnen at you, and there'll be a pit of stakes behind me for when the recoil sends me flying. :-D Anyway, so Christine has been kidnapped (woohoo), Alucard has taken her directly to Hellsing, so Integra doesn't know, and Erik has no idea WTF happened.**

**Onward!**

**Chapter 2**

Raoul regained consciousness a few hours later, his head throbbing. He tried to remember why he was lying on Christine's dressing room floor, but his mind turned up a blank. He looked around for Christine, but she didn't seem to be around. He stood up and walked out of the room, hoping to find where Christine had gone.

-

"I'm telling you, Christine wasn't there."

Raoul was on the stage, trying to tell Firman and Andre what had happened the previous night, but they didn't seem to believe him.

It had taken him awhile to remember what exactly had happened. When he could properly recall the rather unfortunate events, he decided to tell the owners what had happened in the hopes that they would have some idea of what to do. Unfortunately, the fact that the kidnapper had appeared out of a swirling black abyss made them somewhat... incredulous.

"What do you mean?" Andre demanded, "How could she not be there?"

"When I woke up, I was lying on the floor and she was missing." Raoul couldn't see what was so difficult about this.

"Just missing?" Firman crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Yes, missing." Raoul sighed, "I remember a man came through her mirror and took her, but I don't know where to."

"I guess we'll have to alert the authorities." Raoul could tell that Firman didn't really want to let the police know about the kidnapping of an opera singer, but something had to be done. And fast.

"What will we tell them?" Andre looked at his partner.

"The truth." Raoul didn't see how they could tell them anything but the truth, no matter how unorthodox it sounded.

"We'll tell them that Christine was kidnapped and we'll leave it at that." Firman nodded.

* * *

Erik was sitting at his desk, thinking. He had heard about Christine Daaè's kidnapping. But who was the mysterious man? And what did he want with Christine? Furious, Erik stood up and started pacing. He knew that he would have to get her back. The opera house was a mess without her. But how could he find her? She could be anywhere. Erik sighed and stopped pacing. Maybe the play the previous night had something to do with her abduction. Could a member of the audience be behind it?

* * *

Integra and Seras were getting ready to go back to London. Seras was in her room packing up the remainder of her clothes. She put the frilly dress in a bag, so it wouldn't touch any other item of clothing. She had the full intention of burning the horrid dress when she got back to London.

Seras lugged her suitcase out of the bedroom and joined Integra in the living room. "When does our flight leave?"

"At 11."

"And what time is it now?"

"Almost 9."

"We could get a spot of breakfast." Seras leaned against the wall. "Is Master supposed to call you when he gets to London?"

Integra shook her head, still looking out the window. People were getting ready to go to work, the children to school. Dogs were running in the street; some on leashes, some not. Street venders were selling people food such as hot dogs and crumpets.

"I guess we'll have to call Walter when we get back to London, huh?" Seras said.

"He will be waiting for us." Integra turned away from the window, bored.

* * *

When Christine awoke, she found herself in a strange room. It was a rather depressing room. The walls were a bleak shade of grey that matched the floor. There was a circular table against one wall along with a cabinet. In a chair by the cabinet was the man who had kidnapped her. He was in a new outfit than the one she had seen him in last. This time, he was wearing a red cloak with a matching red hat. Sunglasses hid his eyes from any light in the room. Christine happened to notice that he was cleaning a gun.

"Who are you?"

"I don't think it's of any importance, but you may call me Alucard." He grinned maliciously.

"And where am I?" Christine leaned against the headboard. "This isn't Paris, is it?"

"This is Hellsing Headquarters in London." Alucard said, putting the magazine back in the Jakal. "I can't tell you anything more than that."

"I demand that you take me back to Paris this instant." Christine didn't like the idea of staying in London. She wanted to be with Raoul in Paris.

Alucard smiled and said, "That won't be happening."

"And why ever not?" Christine demanded.

"I have the full intention of keeping you right here." Alucard examined a bullet closely between his thumb and index finger on his right hand.

"What do you want with me?" Christine didn't like this man and whatever his plan was. "I'm just a chorus girl. Just an actress in opera."

"Exactly my point." Alucard nodded once. "Stay right here. I must see if Sir Integra has returned."

He left the room, leaving Christine quite alone.

* * *

"I wonder why Master wanted to leave early?" Seras followed Integra into her office, which was cluttered with papers that had arrived during her vacation.

"Alucard has his own reasons for what he does. I can only hope I didn't make a mistake by allowing it."

"You can't think Master has done someng foolish?"

"I hope not." Integra sat down at her desk and faced the other vampire. "It would not be the first time, however."

"Master doesn't do many foolish things, though." Seras thought.

"He wasn't supposed to change you, for one." Integra pointed out.

"Ah, I forgot about that." Seras crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Walter stepped through the door and walked into the office. He looked somewhat nervous and anxious at the same time.

"What is it, Walter?" Integra faced the older man.

"I have news for you, Sir Integra." Walter bowed once in greeting.

"And what is it?" Integra kept her gaze.

"Master Alucard has returned…" Walter seemed to trail off.

"And what else?" Integra was somewhat confused by Walter's actions.

"Did something bad happen?" Seras was hoping that nothing had happened to Alucard.

"He has brought back a French girl." Walter concluded. "A girl from the opera house."

**LastXWords: It's Mika-chan! I'm writing this half by myself here, since Saku-chan can't be here with me. So I'll take this time to write out my author's notes.**

**I know that not a lot of people find this interesting, but if you do, please tell us. I know that Saku-chan likes reviews as much as I do and we would like to know what people think. It's been a while since we've updated, but our schedules hate us and when we **_**do**_** see each other, we forget to work on the story. In any case, updates will be slow, but we will work on this. I, for one, do not want to end this story.**

**Having said all that, I will turn the tide over to Sakura Neko-chan 13. Take it away, Saku-chan! **

**Saku-Chan: Right! I edited I will be writing the next chappie... hopefully, we can work this out. I was hoping LastXWords (Mika-Chan) and I could meet up and do the other chapters the way we did the first one, but that doesn't work out from 1.5 hours away... so yeah. Hope you like Mika-Chan's chapter, and the one I'll (hopefully) put up soon!**


	3. The Chorus Girl

Disclaimer: Mika-Chan and Saku-Chan do not own either Hellsing or Phantom of the Opera

**Disclaimer: Mika-Chan and Saku-Chan do not own either Hellsing or Phantom of the Opera. They're just two squee-ing fangirls.**

**For those who don't know what a squee is... I'm not sure either. We've defined as something along the lines of squiggling glee.**

**"What's with this girl and getting kidnapped? First the Phantom kidnaps her, then Ash Ketchum! The Tellatubies kidnapped her, and Barney... why is Hellsing kidnapping her? I mean, come on now, even the Power Puff Girls kidnapped her!"**

**My cousin, concerning this story.**

**Saku-Chan: 'Allo! Sakura Neko-Chan 13 here, with the latest chapter in our mixed up saga. Hopefully, we'll get to the dying soon... Oops, did I say that? Hehe. I'm sorry to say that I am completely writing this chapter on my own, due to the severe distance between XFamousXLastXWordsX (Mika-Chan) and I. Also, it's been a while since I've seen much Hellsing, so details may be off. However, I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless.**

**...**

**Is that supposed to be one word? Anyway, come one come all to this tragic affair! (Cookies if you know where that's from! No giving it away, Mika-Chan).**

**Chapter 3: The Chorus Girl**

Christine tried the door, but it was locked. There were no windows in the room, and the only furniture was the table, chair, a bookcase, and a...

Was that a _coffin?_

It stood open, the lid leaning against the opposite side. She moved around to see it. Deep, polished black, engraved with a strange rhyme:

_The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame._

What kind of person was this Alucard? Christine had experienced fear before, but even Erik had not lived in such foreboding quarters.

A glass of red wine on the table caught her attention. Its bright hue nearly glowed in the surrounding gloom. Christine made a half-hearted push on the door, then approached the table. The glass goblet was sitting next to an open plastic packet. She focused on the English writing, and slowly deciphered its meaning.

Medicinal blood.

Blood?

She looked at the goblet again, and backed quickly away. A glass full of blood! And he had been drinking from it! In her haste, she tripped and fell into the coffin. Of its own volition, the lid moved up and encased her inside.

And she screamed.

-

"He WHAT? Walter, please tell me this is a joke. I know you don't generally make jokes, but I can't believe this!" Integra was simply fuming. She paced back in forth, her breath coming in heavy gusts. Her hands were shaking. "Do you realize what this could mean? If he kidnapped the girl, we'll have to find some way to take it back without allowing any blame to fall on the agency. What was that idiot vampire thinking?"

"I'm very sorry, Sir Integra. I didn't know until just this morning. I heard a scream from his room, the girl had somehow gotten into his coffin… she is sitting one of the spare bedrooms right now."

"This is fantastic… how can we get her to stay quiet about this? Does she know where we are?"

"She knows this is the Hellsing Agency in London. That should be more than enough information."

"Did you tell her, Walter?"

"Of course not."

"Then Alucard did… I am going to wring that vampire's neck! I'll cut out his black heart and burn his body to ashes! How dare he do this!"

Seras was completely lost. "Wait, so… Master kidnapped someone? From the Opera? In _France_?"

"Yes, Miss Victoria. That would be why I am this upset!"

Seras was quick to catch the venom in Integra's voice. She did not speak again.

Integra paced for a little while longer. "Dismissed, Walter. See to the girl." Walter bowed and walked out.

"ALUCARD! I demand to see you this instant! Get out of here, Victoria!"

Seras rushed out, and Alucard teleported into the room. Rather than the rebellious grin he usually wore, he had a full toothy smile. "What can I do for you, Sir Hellsing?"

"You know damn well! Why in hell did you put us into this mess, Alucard? Who is that girl?"

"Just a singer from the opera last night. A chorus girl. No one will miss her."

"This is kidnapping! What are you planning to do, drink from her? You know damn well that that is not an option!"

"Of course not, Sir Hellsing… I was planning nothing of the sort."

"You know what? I don't care what you were planning! After Walter calms her down, we will take her back to Paris."

"And ruin my fun? How impolite of you, Sir Integra."

"Ruin your fun! Ha! If we're lucky, your bit of 'fun' won't get the Agency into a monstrous piece of trouble with both the British and French governments! It is quite possible that it could end the Hellsing Agency's legality, unless the Queen herself grants us pardon! Do you know what you may have done, Alucard."

"The girl will not cause any problems."

"I don't care! We cannot keep her here! And getting her back is going to be more trouble than I'd like."

"Why not? I told you, she's a chorus girl who will not be missed. She will cause no more trouble for you. You'll never know she's here."

"Alucard, I know you're not human. But being around them should give you an idea of their values! We cannot keep that girl here against her will."

"Who says she will be her against her will?"

"Walter found her in your room, screaming! I doubt she chose to come here!"

"She is frightened at the moment. She will calm down."

"Alucard, I do not want to argue with you any longer. We cannot take her back at the moment, she is too upset. If, as you say, she calms down and wants to stay, I might consider it. If not, we will try to sort out this mess and you can be sure I will hold you responsible. Things will not be easy for you, vampire!"

"As you wish." In moments, Alucard was gone.

Integra massaged her temples; try to stop the development of a headache. She wasn't sure if she had been wise to say what she had- but Alucard was dead set on doing things his own way. She could order him to return the girl, if it came to it. But for the moment his justifications were too much.

-

Walter carried a tray with hot tea into the spare room of the mansion. The girl was shivering on the bed, head in her hands. She was still wearing her costume from the night before.

Christine looked up as Walter approached. She shied away from him, but relaxed when he stayed at a respectful distance.

"I apologize for the circumstances, madam. I assure you that all will be take care of."

Christine started sobbing, exclaiming in French.

"Sang suce canelle! Lui buvant sang!"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I do not speak French... do you know English?"

Christine nodded. Slowly, she started to speak again. "It was... blood. He was drinking blood."

Walter's eyes widened. The girl might know that Alucard was a vampire... if this situation was critical before, now it was dire. How could they expect the girl to forget about her experience here, no matter how brief?

-

Raul raced frantically down the streets of Paris, stopping every now and then to post a sign describing Christine's disappearance on a wall or window. He'd tried talking to the police, but they couldn't investigate since no one really had any proof of her kidnapping. This made Raul furious. Wasn't he good enough? He saw Christine being taken with his own eyes! That should have been more than enough proof! But no, the police didn't want to investigate the mysterious evanescence of a simple chorus girl. Well, Christine was a simple chorus girl to some, but she was everything to Raul.

He stopped to catch his breath at a nearby park, sitting down on a jade green bench. Children were out for an afternoon walk with their mothers, lovers were sitting under maple trees, painters were painting the nearby rose garden…how could things be so simple? Christine was missing! Raul sighed and rubbed his temple. He_ would_ get Christine back.

-

Erik wandered around the deserted Opera House, using this time to find out who might have kidnapped Christine. Maybe it was detestable Carlotta…but why would she do it? She was already an opera star and Christine currently held no threat to her. And it couldn't be Raul because, well, what reason would he have? She was already obsessed with him.

Jumping off the stage, Erik made his way into the boxes where guests could watch the performance. He was looking for something out of place, something that could lead to finding out who Christine's kidnapper was. But nothing looked out of the ordinary!

Erik ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to allow the ivory mask to fall off his face to reveal the grotesque scar. Where else could he look? Ah ha! The Opera House made a list of who purchased tickets for the play. Maybe he would find something there…

Walking out of the auditorium, Erik made his way to the office he was looking for. The room itself was a shambles. Those managers didn't know how to run anything, let alone keep a tidy office.

A bookcase was next to a small table, but the books were merely there for decorative purposes. When he ran his fingers across, Erik could feel the dust fly off of the books. Two desks were in the room: one for each of the incompetent managers. The desks were littered with paper, quills and the like.

Erik shoved the papers off of one desk to reveal a crimson-covered records book that read _La Donna del Lago_. Perfect.

As his fingers scanned the words on the pages, he found that many foreign people came to the famous Opera House. Norway, Germany, Finland, Spain…even England! But Erik wasn't concerned where the theatre-goers lived. Yet he was, in a sense. If a foreigner had taken Christine, he'd need to know their native country.

One name struck him as peculiar: Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. Erik thought that it was a rather unusual last name. Certainly worth looking into, but that could wait. He had more important things to do.

An hour and a half later, his search produced nothing. Nothing other than that mysterious surname. Depression and regret washed over Erik as he left the office. He had no lead and the police weren't going to do anything. They never did. There was nothing he could do. Christine was gone…

**Saku-Chan: hehe. When I started this chapter, I was listening to Toybox on Pandora (if you don't know what that is, try it! It's free). Toybox is happy... too happy. I was dancing in my seat trying to write about coffins and blood. What's wrong with that picture? So I switched to Within Temptation.**

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: Wow, Saku-Chan. I've only listened to Within Temptation, so I don't know what the first was. But the coffins and blood bit was very good. I usually write listening to H.I.M, so……….anywhoo, the next chapter will be my chapter, so I'll be doing that. Unfortunately, I've forgotten the plot. sweatdrop And I didn't write much for this at all. I won't go into the whole review thing. They're always appreciated, though. **

**As I know Saku-Chan said earlier, it's hard for us to write this. We live hours away and it wasn't like that when we started this. It's almost impossible for us to get together and work on this story. I know Saku-Chan feels the same way when I say that I'd like to write this together so we don't have to e-mail back and forth with information. But, hey, you take what you get, right? **

**So updates are going to be kinda slow. My regular readers know that I just started my senior year and have two AP classes, Euro and Lit. Plus I'm trying to be on the editing staff for my school newspaper, so that'll take up time. And I know Saku-Chan has a lot of stuff to do as well. What I'm trying to say is updates may be sooner or later than expected. Just stick with us and we'll give you a story well worth your time. And as for my quote…my heart's a graveyard, baby, and to evil we make love. Gummi bears to anyone who knows what this is from! Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If we owned PotO and/or Hellsing, don't you think this whole story would exist by now?**

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! It's my turn to start this chapter. Hopefully I'll be doing a lot of the writing, since I feel that Saku-chan has been doing most of it and I don't think I'm doing enough. In any case, I don't really feel like reading the stuff for my AP Euro class right now, so I'll start on this.**

**Saku-chan and I have decided to try to update chapters once a week. This may be hard for me, I know, because Wednesdays are booked and I have two AP classes and the possibility that I'll be an editor for our school paper, which may not happen. From what Saku-chan is telling me, her AP Bio class isn't a cup of tea, either. The point is, we'll try our hardest to get updates up in a timely manner. No more waiting a year for a chapter, at least.**

**Saku-chan's song was **_**The End**_** by My Chemical Romance and mine was **_**Passion's Killing Floor**_** by H.I.M. As for my quote today… "And if all that can't hold you back, I'll jump for you." I hope it's not too obvious. Skittles to anyone who gets it! And so begins the deadly tale!**

Walter was somewhat confused by the situation at hand, even though he knew that he shouldn't be. All he knew was that the chorus girl was _not_ supposed to be in Hellsing Manor, the Queen would be upset by this and that Alucard, Seras and Integra had gone to an opera in Paris, from which the girl had come. Why Alucard had taken the girl was unknown to everyone save for the vampire himself.

* * *

A single light was on in Integra's office: a small desk lamp that barely shed enough light for the desk in front of her. The Queen had been notified, of course, about the abduction of Christine Daaè, since Integra had learned the chorus girl's name. She was upset to put things mildly, and very mildly at that. She demanded to know why such a heinous act was committed and why the head vampire from Hellsing was behind it.

Integra had tried to explain that it was an accident, though it really wasn't. Alucard had meant to kidnap the girl and he didn't seem to be showing any remorse, which had both women rather annoyed. The Queen, naturally, didn't believe Integra's excuse and demanded that the girl be returned to France as soon as she possibly could.

Integra then told the Queen of Alucard's plan. There was no obvious reason that Christine Daaè wanted to be in England at all, which made the Queen want the chorus girl back in France all the more. However, when Integra promised to return her if she so desired, the Queen agreed to the plan.

What really annoyed Integra was the fact that Alucard had done something without her direct permission. He usually didn't do something so outlandish and he'd never gone so far as to kidnap someone, and from another country no less!

Standing, Integra made her way out of the office and down to the spare bedroom. It was time she had a talk with Christine Daaè.

* * *

The walls of Hellsing Manor looked very strange and lonely to Christine. And why shouldn't they? She was miles away from home in a place that she'd never been before. And to top it all off, a vampire was right around the corner. Just what she'd always wanted.

Groaning, Christine fell into her bed, her head hitting the soft pillow, and closed her eyes, trying to remember Paris, even though she hadn't been away long enough to forget it yet. She remembered the smell of the Opera House, the feel of the stage beneath her feet, the sound of Carlotta's warbling piercing her eardrums. She almost missed that sound now that it was away from her, though she only missed it because it was so familiar to her. She missed Raul more than anything. What was he doing now? Surely he knew of her kidnapping. He, after all, was there when it happened. Maybe he was talking to the police to try to bring her back…

A knock on the door sounded before a woman walked in, long blonde hair behind her back, azure eyes hidden behind round glasses. She'd seen her before, yet she couldn't remember her name…

"Well, _this_ is going to be difficult."

And it certainly would be. Neither knew the other's name, though the blonde woman might know hers by now.

"My name is Integra Hellsing and I'm in charge of this organization." The woman, apparently named Integra, said. "It is my fault that you are here in the first place, for not keeping Alucard under control."

Alucard? The man who was drinking _blood_ before her very eyes?

"This whole situation has created a slight altercation between the English and French governments. Our Queen wants you back in France, as I'm sure you wish as well, but that is out of the question for the time being." Integra pulled out a cigar and a lighter.

"What do you mean?" Christine sat up on her elbow so she could properly converse.

"We have some…skirmishes, we'll say, going on between France and England. You cannot return safely until they are taken care of." Integra lit the cigar and watched the smoke rise to the ceiling.

"I don't care about that!" Christine cried. "I want to go back to Paris!"

"You'll care if you value your life." Integra's voice was softer than it usually was, full of seriousness.

Christine remained silent and stared at Integra for a few moments. True, she _did_ want to return to Paris, but she also wanted to be alive when she returned as well.

"May I ask what these skirmishes are about?" Christine tried to keep her tone even.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you." Integra shook her head as she took a drag from her cigar.

Christine crossed her arms in front of her chest, obviously very annoyed. She wanted to know why she couldn't return to France, even if it was something she shouldn't know about.

"Seeing your reaction from a few minutes ago, I'm going to assume that you wish to return to France." Integra merely nodded. "Which is understandable. Just understand that it might take a while for this to be arranged."

And without another word, Integra left the room, leaving Christine quite confused and alone.

* * *

"Why do you want to look at the attendance records?"

Raoul was on the stage of the Opera House with Andre and Firman the next day after a rehearsal. After giving up on the police for assistance, Raoul decided that he would try to track down Christine's abductor himself. It wasn't an easy task, of course, but someone had to do something.

He had been reading the newspaper that morning when he saw an article about the play from the previous night. To some this might be no big deal and they'd skip it entirely. This, however, caught Raoul's attention and he formed an idea within seconds.

He might be able to discover who the abductor was from the attendance list. When she had been kidnapped, Raul thought the kidnapper was foreign, since he spoke French with an odd accent.

So Raul figured that her abductor wasn't from France. Sure, a lot of people from around the world came to the Opera House, but it couldn't be that hard, could it?

"Because Christine's kidnapper is foreign!" Raul was trying as hard as he could to be patient.

"And how do you know this?" Andre mused.

"He said something before he kidnapped her, with an accent." Raul said.

"But what will looking through the attendance book show?" Andre frowned.

"It might give us a lead." Raul said hopefully.

"You _are_ aware of how many foreigners come to the Opera House, aren't you?" Firman raised his eyebrows.

"It's a stretch, I know." Raul said. "But right now, it's the only lead we have. We _must_ find Christine!"

"Yes, we know that." Andre's voice was bored. "But we can't go searching the world for one chorus girl."

"But _I'm_ willing to do it." Raul glared at the older men. "Now show me this book."

Without a moment's hesitation, the Opera House managers took off with Raul close on their heels. They stopped in front of a door before walking inside a very messy room. Andre scanned a desk whilst Firman ran through the bookcases. Raul found the book before either of them.

"You really should keep a cleaner office."

Opening the book, Raul's eyes found thousands of names; some French and Italian, but others were German, Welsh, Scottish, Hungarian…The name Hellsing struck him again as peculiar. It sounded like it might be British.

"Do we know anything about this Hellsing?" Raul faced the managers, his finger still on the name. "First name Integra?"

"We don't do background checks." Andre shrugged. "This is an opera house, not a prison."

Raul scowled and sighed, returning the book to its rightful place. Hellsing…the name sounded suspicious enough, but did they have anything to do with the kidnapping of Christine?

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: Kind of a productive chapter. I hope I was descriptive enough. That's one of the things I'm working on. It's kind of hard to me to remember stuff from PotO because I haven't watched it in a while, but it's coming back to me pretty quickly. Saku-chan will be starting the next chapter and I hope I can do a bit more writing next time. I feel like I'm not doing enough. Anyway, you're up, Saku-chan!**

**Saku-Chan: Right! Once again, I edited and prevented any clashes between her chapters and mine… so everyone knows, we're assuming the characters are all bi-lingual, just to make things easier on ourselves. Hehe.**

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: Yes, I was wondering how that would work out…it would be a bit odd if the conversation could be understood if two completely different languages were being spoken. I don't want to imagine Alucard speaking French, though. In any case, thanks to those who read and glomps to those who review!**


	5. Friends or Enemies?

Disclaimer: Neither Mika Kyoko nor Sakura Neko own PotO or Hellsing

**Disclaimer: Neither Mika Kyoko nor Sakura Neko own PotO or Hellsing. If they did, the world would probably freeze over while the poles burned to ashes. It would be that insane.**

**Saku-Chan: Hello! I'm trying to get this chapter done in as timely a manner as my schedule allows… I'm actually starting it in one of my classes. Don't be mad at me, I'm done with my work for the day! Honest! I want A's, I wouldn't be skimping.**

**Anyway, so when we left off Christine was trapped in Hellsing- not by Alucard, but by circumstances. What is going on between France and England? No, that's not foreshadowing. I honestly don't know yet- either I'll make it up or Mika-Chan will tell me.**

**Also, both Erik and Raoul have started sniffing around Integra's attendance at the show. Anyway, here's chapter number 5, the second chapter I'll be writing on my own. Enjoy, I think that Erik and Raoul will start appearing more pretty soon.**

**Chapter 5: Friends or Enemies?**

The managers had proven most unhelpful. They knew nothing of any of the guests, and showed no real support for his attempts to find Christine. The only clue Raoul had was a name that stuck to his mind- Hellsing. He could not expect help from anyone, not for this. The entire scenario was too unbelievable, and in any case Christine was not important to them. There was no one who cared as much as Raoul did.

Unless…

Raoul clamped down on the idea as soon as it formed. He would not resort to asking help from that madman! He and Erik had tried to kill each other on more than one occasion. Even if that… creature agreed to help, Raoul would have to desperate to even try.

"This is an Opera House, not a prison…" Raoul mumbled sarcastically. Please! Didn't it make sense to check out who came nonetheless? Especially the bigger names, those who could afford private boxes. He had to find some way to check on this Integra character. His family had a good name in France- he might be able to check the flight records, to see where this person came from and who else was there.

Box 3… he remembered seeing someone up in Box 3, where Hellsing was supposed to be sitting. Two women, one in a ridiculous dress. The other figure had been shadowed. He had thought nothing of it at the time- the only reason he remember at all was the dress. But the other figure… was that Hellsing? The kidnapper? He had no way of knowing, but he had to go with his gut instinct. Nothing else was helping.

So, to the airport then. To check the destination of Integral Hellsing. It would be at least a start.

* * *

Christine was still sitting alone in the room. She had been trying to make sense of everything, ever since Integra had walked out. She had been kidnapped by a vampire. She was stuck in a strange building in England. She could not go home- there was something going on between France and England.

She was stuck in a building where she knew a vampire dwelled.

She was terrified already.

The worst part was that she could not understand why she had been brought here in the first place. She felt that a lot of time had passed. If she had been meant to become the vampire's meal, why hadn't she died before she had a chance to be rescued? If you could call this a rescue. And why did these people allow a vampire to live among them, without any visible fear or any sort of protection?

It was all too confusing, and it was worse to think about it. But what else did she have to do?

She walked to the door and tried the knob. It swung open easily. Christine grasped the edge of the doorway and peeked into the hall. Empty, with a few other doors. Without warning, the door across from hers opened. A young woman in a police uniform stepped out. The other girl jumped.

"Um, hello? You must be the girl Master brought here. The singer."

Christine puzzled over the sentence for a moment. Her blank stare was beginning to dismay the police girl, but she finally fully deciphered the sentence. "Master?"

"Uh… yes. Long story. You don't speak English well, do you? I suppose that makes sense, since you are from France. You were great in the Opera, by the way. My name is Seras." She made sure to speak slowly this time, giving Christine time to translate.

"You saw the performance?"

"Yeah, last night. Before you were… oh, I'm sorry." Christine had tears running down her cheeks. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I'm so tactless, I didn't mean to… um, were you trying to find something? I mean, you're just standing in the door."

Christine shook her head.

"Are you hungry? I know this place like the back of my hand, I could help you find something…"

Again, Christine shook her head. Still, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Seras looked so nervous, shifting back and forth and wringing her hands.

"I don't know where I was planning to go…" Christine said finally. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting the door to be open."

"Well, of course it was open… I mean, this isn't a prison."

"Then what is it?"

"Um… I don't know what to tell you. What all do you already know?"

"This is… Hellsing. In London. And there's…" Christine bit her lip, leaned closer to Seras and lowered her voice to a whisper. "There's a _vampire_ here!"

"Well, yeah, there is that… I imagine that would bother you."

Christine could not believe her ears. She had just told the girl about a vampire, and she didn't seem to care. Seras continued her explanation.

"Everyone here knows about him… see, he's supposed to be here. He's also supposed to be under Sir Integra's control, but I never quite understood how that worked. Anyway, don't be worried. He's not allowed to drink from humans."

Christine didn't understand why that should keep her from being afraid. She was about to ask Seras what else she knew, but she heard a voice behind her.

"Telling tales, police girl?"

Christine looked behind her, and saw Alucard leaning against the bedpost of her room. She let out a muffled scream and stumbled back. Seras caught her shoulder, helping to steady her.

"M… Master!" Seras swallowed visibly and clenched her teeth. "That wasn't a nice thing to do, sneaking up on her like that!"

Alucard laughed. "Not nice? How childish… and I didn't sneak up on anyone. I just wanted to see how our little chorus girl was settling in. Glad to see you two have been acquainted."

"You know perfectly well she won't be staying long. Sir Integra's going to send her home."

"Are you so certain? I must say, you sound quite confident… it's an improvement. If you could keep it up, police girl, you might turn out to be worth something after all. Now, Integra has agreed to send her home- if she wants to go. In the meantime, she's stuck here one way or another." Alucard grinned widely, proudly displaying his sharp canines. "The timing for this little skirmish couldn't be better."

Seras was blushing furiously, too embarrassed by his earlier comment to respond. Christine, on the other hand, had had trouble deciphering their fast-paced exchange. She did however, get the gist of it- that he had implied she might want to stay.

Shaking her head, she backed behind Seras. "Stay away from me… vampire!"

"Vampire? If that's what you're worried about, I don't see why you're hiding behind police girl… she's a vampire as well."

Christine's eyes darted to Seras, and in that moment Alucard disappeared.

"Is that true? You're… you're a…"

Seras sighed and turned to face Christine. "Yes. I'm a vampire. I'm sorry for not telling you, I didn't want to scare you…"

Christine didn't stay to listen- she ran back into her room and slammed the door.

Seras turned to walk down the hall. "Well, so much for that. Thanks a lot Master."

* * *

After a brief discussion with the management of the airport, Raoul was allowed to look through the flight records for Integral Hellsing. It took him several hours, but he finally found the flight. Hellsing had left for London the morning after Christine disappeared. Now the only questions remaining were whether or not Hellsing was responsible… and what Raoul would do about it.

Though he wasn't sure about the answer to either question, Raoul proceeded to ask about acquiring an imminent flight to England. The management explained to him that all flights between France and England were canceled until further notice, because of some sort of classified political crisis. The same went for any boat trips between the two nations.

Raoul left the airport, quietly cursing. He finally found his lead, yet was unable to pursue it. He had no options until the 'crisis' rolled over- and by then, who knew what may have happened to Christine?

He returned to the opera house. At first, his intention was to look for any other information he could possibly use. Then, after arriving, he realized that he may very well be desperate. Perhaps it was… necessary to….

Well, you know the old saying. Side with the evil you know over the evil you don't. Raoul threaded his way to the basement of the Opera house.

* * *

Erik had contacted several of his old underground connections- despite years hidden at the opera house, he still had some influence. However, for the time being it did him no good. Though he had a hunch that this Hellsing was responsible, he had no idea where to start looking.

Pacing through his home seemed the poorest substitute for real action- but he had nowhere to start. He could head to England- the name did sound distinctly British- but there were some problems between countries, and would be a waste of time to secure passage through it if it turned out he was wrong.

At the same time, it did him no good at all to do _nothing_. Which was worse- to not try at all, and waste time, or to try and be wrong and waste even more time? He was still puzzling over it when he heard the sound of moving water.

He glanced around the room, looking around for a handy stretch of rope. His eyes swept past the organ, the bed, his model stage…

Ah. There it was.

Only four people he knew of could find their way through the maze of the opera's basement. One was himself. Christine was missing.

That left Madame Giry or Raoul.

Certainly Raoul would have no reason, no _inclination_ to come down here. But then, the same could be said for the Madame. Had someone else found his hideaway?

He didn't stand idle as he puzzled over the possibilities. He had no time to extinguish the lights, but was able to hide himself in the shadows. He would see the intruder long before the intruder saw him.

Erik didn't have to wait long before he saw who had disturbed him- against all probability, it was Raoul. What in hell would that bastard be doing here? Did he suspect that Erik was somehow responsible? He would soon find out…

"Erik! Phantom! Whatever you want to call yourself, this is important!" Raoul searched around the seemingly-deserted room, his eyes passing over Erik without pause.

"It's about Christine…"

Erik stayed still, waiting.

"Damn it… I think I know where she is, but…"

Raoul set his jaw, turning constantly to watch for a threatening rope.

"Grr… I need your help to find her. You want her back too, don't you?"

Raoul was facing away from Erik now. Erik slipped into a more comfortable seat in the room. "Alright, D'Chagne. You've caught my attention."

Raoul jumped and turned to face Erik. He scanned around, eyes flashing back to Erik every few seconds, possibly checking for some kind of track. Erik had left the rope in the shadows- he was sure that he could overpower the aristocratic boy if it came down to that.

Raoul finally finished his examination of the room. He tried to seem confident, but in the unpredictable presence of the 'phantom' of the opera, memories of less pleasant encounters filled his brain.

"I suppose that you've already invaded the manager's office to view the records?"

Erik could detect the faint quaver in Raoul's voice. He couldn't keep a slight smile from escaping. "Of course."

"I noticed a certain name from the last opera… Integral Hellsing."

Erik raised an eyebrow in response.

"I tracked the person to London, but all transportation is closed off. I have no way to get there."

Erik smiled. "But I do. So, now that you have so freely given me this information, why should I bother to help you? In fact, why should I even let you leave alive?"

Erik had no real intention of killing Raoul, however much he would like to. Christine, if he ever saw her again, would never forgive him. However, it gave him a feeling of power to see a glimmer of fear behind Raoul's eyes.

Raoul, on the other hand, had to fight down the urge to start questioning what had possessed him to come down here. If Erik was serious- and he very well may be- Raoul had to think fast. He had made a mistake in telling Erik what he had learned so quickly. Now he had to find some other reason for Erik not to leave him behind.

"Look… we have a common interest in this. Christine could be in serious danger, and it would be better for her if we worked together in this. You have your skills, I'm sure, but I have influence. How, for example, would you find out any more about Hellsing once you arrived?"

"I'd find some way. I don't see any reason for me to work with you- the very thought of it _sickens_ me."

"I know you hate me." Raoul was growing genuinely confident. He knew he had found the weakness in Erik's resolve. "But you do love Christine. If we fight each other, and get in each other's way, what will become of her? Better to bear the humiliation of working together and sort out our differences when Christine is back in Paris."

Erik's eyes wandered into the distance, concentrating on some unexpressed thought.

"Unless, of course, you don't love her. That would be the only reason you would refuse to do what is best for her sake."

"Fine. I'll help you- but don't think it changes anything. If it weren't for these circumstances, no one would have even found your body." Erik turned and walked over to his organ. "Now, go. Leave me be, I'll find some means of contacting you once I've secured passage to London."

Erik's hands passed idly over the keys, his fingers tracing familiar melodies. At the same time, he listened intently. Raoul had not moved from behind him.

"Do I have your word, Erik."

Erik turned his head slightly, showing Raoul only a glint of his mask. "Of course." Once again, he turned away.

"On Christine's life?"

"What do you think?"

"Just say it."

"On her life. Now _leave_."

Raoul turned and walked from the phantom's underground tomb.

**Saku-Chan: Okay. That was WAY more than a week. I'm so sorry… Mika-Chan is likely to be far more prompt than I. Anyway, nice long chapter… Christine meets Seras, and Erik and Raoul agree to work together. Honestly, I don't really see why Erik agreed to it… Raoul doesn't have much choice, but Erik could leave and Raoul would have no way of following. Then again, Raoul does have a point about his influence. Hopefully it is a decent chapter. What do you think, Mika-Chan?**

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: About the chapter or the thing with Erik and Raoul? The chapter is great! And Erik may be more fearsome, but Raoul has more influence, like you said. It will be interesting to see how things turn out with that influence…Anyway…So this was Saku-chan's chapter, meaning I'll start the next one. Well, I'll be doing the whole thing, actually. I hope I can do a good job with it and keep the plot bunny from escaping. That would be problematic, huh? And now it's quote time! My quote shall be… "Would you mind if I killed you? Would you mind if I tried to?". Whoever guesses it gets gummi bears! And no giving it away, Saku-chan! **


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If Saku-chan and Mika-chan owned Hellsing or PotO, do you really think they'd be writing this story?

**XFamousXLastXWordsX: Why did I write the disclaimer in third person? I have no idea.**

**Hey yo! It's the paranoid and anti-social Mika-chan! Since the lovely Saku-chan wrote the last chapter, I will be doing this chapter. I really hope everyone likes this story so far. I know I'm loving it and I'm pretty sure Saku-chan does too. **

**I hope the updating once a week thing isn't annoying anybody, even though our updates are getting to be few and far between. I have AP Euro and Saku-chan has AP Bio, which is VERY complicated, if I understand correctly. And we are both involved with our school plays. I think Saku-chan's is still in the rehearsal stage and mine has another week until performance. In any case, we really are trying out hardest to get chapters up in a timely manner. Life just happens to get in the way of that sometimes. **

**So my quote a few chapters back was from **_**Don't Jump**_** by Tokio Hotel. My quote for this chapter is… "Enlighten me. Reveal my fate. Just cut these strings that hold me sane." On with the deadly tale!**

Chapter 6

A rather annoyed Integra Hellsing paced the length of her office in a very agitated manner, her eyes glancing at the clock every few seconds. The director of Hellsing Manor was supposed to attend a meeting with the queens from France and England and Alucard was _supposed_ to be attending. She had told him to arrive at her office half an hour before the meeting was to commence and, of course, he was nowhere to be found.

That vampire could be very sneaky when he wanted to be.

As she turned to walk up the office once more, a knock sounded at the door and Seras Victoria stepped cautiously inside. Upon noticing Integra's state of agitation, the former police girl's stance became cautious and hesitant.

"Is, um, something wrong, Sir Integra?" Seras tried not to sound weak.

"No, it's nothing, Seras." Integra shook her head.

"May I ask where Master is?" Seras wasn't sure if this was crossing the line.

"That's what I would like to know." Seras concluded that Integra had no idea where her master was, and thus was no help with her situation.

"I'll go look around the courtyard, then." Seras made to leave the room.

"Seras?"

Seras stopped and turned to face Integra, who was no staring out into the courtyard.

"Yes, sir?"

"If you find him, tell him to come to my office straight away." Integra's voice was nothing but serious.

Seras nodded and said, "Yes, sir," before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Crimson eyes stared at the full moon just minutes away from Integra Hellsing's office. The owner of the eyes was excited, for he rarely got the chance to gaze at the moon for an indefinite period of time.

Alucard knew that there would be hell to pay from Integra, but he just couldn't pass up this moment.

Integra had, of course, ordered him to attend a meeting with the French and British queens, though Alucard had no intention of attending it. He had no desire to be in the presence of old women, even though Integra wasn't exactly that old. She was certainly as cranky as an old woman and for good reason. Alucard knew he shouldn't have brought that chorus girl back from Paris, but his better side took him over. His id, to use psychological terms.

Alucard heard footsteps from behind him and it wasn't long before Seras Victoria was in view, looking somewhat relieved yet apprehensive at the same time.

"Sir Integra's looking for you." Seras said when she reached the elder vampire.

"Undoubtedly." Alucard's expression was unreadable.

"She wants you back in her office straight away." Seras was still trying to read her master's expression.

"Did she say something about a meeting?" Alucard was not looking at his protégé

"Um…no." Seras had to think on the matter for a moment before she could reach a conclusion.

"It's probably about the meeting." Alucard turned to Seras and said. "I want you to shoot off a thousand rounds of ammunition before I get back. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Seras glared at Alucard for a moment before he turned and walked off.

As Alucard made his way to Integra's office, he tried to prepare himself for the wave of fury that she was sure to set loose on him. He'd evaded her for a long length of time and Integra didn't think too highly of that.

When he finally reached her office, the vampire found Integra pacing the length of her office in a very agitated manner, something Alucard had learned that she did when she was very annoyed and/or waiting.

"It's about time, Alucard." Integra's voice matched her stance when she realized his presence.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sir Hellsing." Alucard figured he'd see if he could push her a little further.

"Of course you do, you rotten vampire, and you know it." Now he'd gone too far.

"There was no purpose for me in this office, so I decided to go elsewhere." Alucard explained.

"Oh?" Integra's eyebrows were raised. "And where might that be?"

"On the roof of the target building." Alucard's lips formed a smile that revealed his alarmingly sharp canines.

"Doing what?" Integra's expression did not change.

"Moon gazing." Alucard said, still grinning.

"Do you _like_ to annoy me, Alucard?" the agitation in Integra's voice was rising.

"Of course not." Alucard couldn't say that this statement was entirely truthful.

At that moment, Walter entered the room and said, "Sir Hellsing, the queens have just arrived."

Integra sighed and said, "Thank you, Walter." Before she left, she turned and faced Alucard with a look that could terrify the toughest of men. "We _will_ continue this discussion later, Alucard."

* * *

Gunshots rang outside Hellsing Manor as Seras Victoria fired off another round of ammunition at a target literally miles away. With each shot fired, a shell casing fell to the grass where it joined many others in a large heap.

After firing off the last round, Seras decided that now was a good time to stop and take a break. She had, after all, fired off almost five hundred rounds of ammo, and she thought she deserved a quick breather.

While she was taking her break, Seras' thoughts fell on the current situation in England, the situation where Alucard had brought a French chorus girl back to England very much against her will. The former police girl had found out from Walter that Integra was to have a meeting with the French and English queens about this matter and that her master was supposed to be in attendance.

This whole problem could have been avoided if Alucard had ignored those perverse thoughts of his. Better yet, Hellsing wouldn't be in this dilemma if the trip to France had been cancelled. Then she wouldn't have been forced to be seen in public in that horrid frilly pink dress.

Wishful thinking was hopeless in this situation.

* * *

Alucard's mind was wandering. He had been introduced to Queen Jane Lorena, the queen of England, and Queen Sophie Maria, the queen from France. Their husbands, Edward VII and John III had wanted to be in attendance, but could not make it. So Alucard was forced to listen to the women talk about the situation that he was responsible for, as Integra kept reminding him.

"Does she wish to return to France?" Sophie Maria implored.

"She does, but this will be difficult with all the skirmishes." Integra nodded.

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow." Sophie Maria indeed looked confused.

"I'm sure you are aware of the problems between England and Ireland at the moment." Jane Lorena faced the French queen.

"I don't see what that has to do with this problem." Sophie Maria frowned.

"A number of Irish have taken hostage of English planes and crashed them." Jane Lorena explained.

"And we are having some arguments with the Germans at the time as well." Integra added. "They haven't tried something like this yet, but we can't be sure that they will."

"What are you saying, Sir Hellsing?" Sophie Maria's eyes were narrowed.

"Until we can assure that Christine will be transported safely to Paris, I'm afraid that she will remain here." Integra pulled out a lighter and lit a cigar.

"That's ridiculous!" Sophie Maria exclaimed.

"I myself explained to her why she cannot be allowed to return home at the moment and she has not raised any objections to this." Integra continued.

"But surely she wants to go home!" Sophie Maria was still looking rather appalled.

"And that she does. But she knows the sort of situation we are in and how dangerous it is for her to return home at the present time." Integra took a drag from her cigar. "She is willing to stay here for as long as necessary."

Sophie Maria seemed to be at a loss for words. Jane Lorena had tried to explain the situation before the meeting had started, but the French queen didn't fully comprehend the seriousness of the matter until she was in the meeting room with Integra Hellsing.

"It seems that there is nothing that can be done." Sophie Maria said.

"I assure you that she will return to Paris as soon as possible." Integra promised.

"This better be soon, Sir Hellsing." Sophie Maria's voice was filled with a threat.

"Of course it will." Integra nodded.

And with that, the women and Alucard filed out of the meeting room, tensions still high from the heated conversation. Christine would return to France, but only after the skirmishes in Ireland and Germany were done. And who knew when that would be…

XFamousXLastXWordsX: Was it a good chapter? I started this a couple of weeks ago, but then I had rehearsal for hours at a time then shows…then Journalism whatnot. The paper came out today, but it's absolutely horrible. My article isn't even in it! And then AP Euro was a complete pain…

**Anyway, here concludes my chapter. I hope it was a LITTLE bit entertaining. Saku-chan's going to write the next chapter and she's a far better writer than I am. I'm slowly loosing the plot in my head and I have to keep reminding myself what's going on.**

**Reviews are always welcome and encouraged. They're what keep us going. ^_^ Saku-chan likes reviews as much as I do, so keep 'em coming! **

**I'm basically done here for my AN. So here's Saku-chan!**

**Sakura Neko-Chan 13: Kk! Mika-Chan, you and I need to have a long phone conversation… remind ourselves what started all this. Keep our eyes on the target… or targets, rather, hehe… ok! I will be writing the next chapter! I have a class where I just about do nothing with a computer in front of me, so I'll try to use that time…**


	7. Roseblood Dreams

**Disclaimer: If we owned either of these franchises, we would be filthy rich and NOT working our butts off in college.**

**Saku-Chan: My lord, it has been more than 2 years. We're sooo not good at keeping up with things, but I'm ready to give it another shot. Can't promise much, but we'll see if we can do better than an average of a chapter every half a year. So, we left off with an explanation of the transportation problem that is keeping Christine trapped with Alucard. I don't want to drone too long, so let's get to it.**

**Chapter 7: Roseblood Dreams**

The French queen stayed in London for several days. Meanwhile, the men responsible for her safety checked every nook and cranny of her plane and swept for bombs. Experts were called in to check fuel tanks, electric systems, and anything else that could foul up flight and each expert was watched closely. Other experts were called in to double-check. No entrance to the plane or its workings was left unguarded for a moment.

Such a large amount of trouble for a single flight; but the queen could not be risked, and it was the only one allowed in or out of the country. After this, England would be under lockdown until the crisis could be solved. Even travel over sea had been banned, to make certain of citizen's safety.

Meanwhile, some of the less politically aware citizens complained about the government delaying their cross-country vacations.

* * *

Christine, as an orphan, didn't have a very reliable background. It had taken Sophie Maria a few hours to decide to bring Christine home on her personal plane, but her protectors had insisted the girl stay behind. They knew nothing about her, so she could potentially be a liability. Sophie didn't argue too much; though she felt for the girl, it wasn't really about her. She would have to return to France on a commercial transport, when one was available.

No one had told Christine about any of these conversations, not wanting to get her hopes up. It was just as well, in her current state she would have been in a state of elation after learning she might go home, and a dangerous depression when it had fallen through. Instead, she waited in a state that felt to her like a half-life, numbed by fear and confusion. She could only hope that either these people would hold to their word…

Or that Raoul would come rescue her. However, neither could happen until this unknown 'crisis', if it existed, was over. But these people might be lying… she had no way of knowing. It was a rather desperate situation.

She stayed in her room, trying to think. There were at least two vampires, though neither had tried to attack her. The girl she had spoken to seemed relatively harmless, as far as anyone who drank blood went. But the other one… she was afraid of him, though he had not done her any overt harm. He seemed to appear whenever she opened the door, as if he were waiting for her to leave. So she stayed in her room.

But she didn't feel safe in there either. He had appeared once in there as well, when she spoke to the vampire girl. It seemed he could go where he pleased, regardless of walls, doors and locks… there was no protection for her until she was far away. So she simply hoped; for rescue, for the vampire to leave her in peace, and most of all to see Raoul again.

But without anything that she could do, she waited. The butler came in to bring food, always saying nothing. Christine found him a little creepy. The rest of the time she was on her own, with a few books that she had found in the room. She had learned some English from travelling with her father, but she was very rusty. Working with the books would make it easier for her to communicate with people here… if there were anyone to talk to.

* * *

Integra was not sure she would have survived much longer having the French Queen in London. Although the real issue was, of course, Alucard's unpredictable behavior, the woman at times seemed more concerned about the stray girl than the overall political issue; a British representative's breaking of the law. It was a good thing that Alucard didn't officially exist, and therefore could not be tried for his crime. But it did put strain on the trust between the two countries, enough that an exception was made for the Queen's flight.

Integra had been as disappointed as Sophie to find that the girl couldn't return home with the Queen. In addition to solving the problem sooner, she also felt it would put Alucard in his place to lose his new toy. Despite her official control over him, the ancient vampire was excellent at finding loopholes in even the most direct orders. At times, she wondered how tightly Alucard was really bound. She tried to stop such thoughts quickly, since they could lead to a bit of panic. She doubted she had the skill necessary to recast the binding if it were to fade; the knowledge needed for that had died with her father, if it had even lasted that long.

So she worried when Alucard found ways around her orders. She had not mentioned to the Queens that the girl had been brought by supernatural means, because then they would want her returned the same way. And Integra was afraid that, if she gave the order for Alucard to return the girl, he would not comply.

* * *

The timing of the Irish attacks could not have been better for Alucard. While Seras and Sir Integra flew back from Paris, five planes crashed into clear land or open ocean. No major landmarks or population centers had been hit, and no one on the planes survived. An Irish extremist group had taken credit. England had tried to continue transportation with heightened security, but the attacks continued. By the time a day had passed and Christine was calm enough for travel, the whole system had come to a stop.

Anyone who thought about it too much realized that it would take massive amounts of knowledge and subterfuge to accomplish such a large-scale attack, something the small group claiming responsibility would be unlikely to have. The British government suspected a greater plot, but was unsure of which direction it was coming from. As such, even the Hellsing organization was given minimum information: the Irish attacked us, all transportation is down.

Alucard, however, knew all about it.

* * *

It was the sixth day of Christine's stay at Hellsing Manor. Walter was carrying a large dinner tray, with thick creamy soup, a baguette, and a beef pot roast. He was heading for the chorus girl's room. Serving the girl was one of his least interesting jobs; she always sat on the bed, watching him like he might turn into a dragon. He felt that one word might make her bolt.

He opened the door, and saw Christine sitting in a lounge chair with a book in her lap. Deep brown eyes glanced up as he entered.

"Hello." Despite the thick accent, her English was clean and clear.

"Good evening." Walter was more than a little surprised, earlier that very day she had been curled like a mouse in the adder's den. As usual, he kept a quiet composure, but he wondered what had brought on the change.

"My name is Christine. Who are you?"

"Walter, the butler." He turned away to place the food on the table, and walked toward the door with the platter in hand.

"Does everyone here know about him?"

Walter stopped, considered, and turned his head in the questioner's direction. "Yes." He left.

* * *

Christine had been afraid for so long now that it ceased to bother her, and her curiosity was rising. She had always had a curiosity that bordered on morbid, and she had dealt with things worse than this before. At least she wasn't alone here. She was unsure of the wisdom of leaving the room, but surely some exploration would be better than just sitting around.

She looked at the steaming dishes on the table. She had eaten little in the last week. Raoul would be disappointed if she were nothing but skin and bones when he came. She wolfed down as much food as she thought was reasonable, walked toward the door…

And stopped in front of it. She considered her choice. She knew that the vampire, Alucard, would most likely be outside. When she first met Erik, she had thought he was a supernatural being, and he had not been. His comings and goings had been disguised by illusions. It could be the same here, but she was unsure. If Alucard were truly a vampire, what she was about to do was very dangerous. But if he wasn't, then he was just a man, like Erik. And men could be killed and driven away.

It occurred to her that it might be wise to think this through before doing it. But she wasn't used to being trapped in a room all day, and she wanted to _do_ something. Why wait?

She opened the door and took a step out. She heard a low laugh, and turned to see the supposed vampire not three feet away from her, a broad grin across his face. He was looking at her over the tops of his odd glasses. Christine took another step out of the room. She was unsure if she should ignore him and just keep going, say something to him, or go back inside. After a few moments, he made the decision for her.

"Finally brave enough to leave the cage?"

Christine considered telling him that this whole place was a cage, but his presence caused her no small amount of unease. Instead she just nodded.

"Good. The manor has some beautiful grounds surrounding it; you should see them."

"Maybe…"

"Would you like me to show you where they are?"

The longer Christine stood there, the more she felt she had made a very poor choice. Simply knowing Alucard was there, with no interaction, was not nearly as frightening as trying to talk to him. When she had known nothing of him, she had been quite bold, but now she was uncertain what she should do. It was too late to ignore him. Should she go back into the room? Or allow him to show her outside?

Except for the brief glance when she first saw him, Christine had not looked directly at Alucard. She looked beside him, at her feet or away. Alucard, on the other hand, was watching her intently. He could see her fear and indecision reflected in the doe brown eyes, and waited patiently. A minute passed, with her biting her lip and looking over her shoulder at her room.

Christine looked up at his face, trying to gauge his intent. He had removed the glasses at some point, and she could see his full features. He had a somewhat narrow face framed by stray strands of black hair. His eyes, though narrowed slightly, were taken up by huge crimson irises. He smiled (a reasonable facsimile of a friendly grin, despite the fangs), looked her in the eye, and offered his arm. Suddenly, her fear dimmed and she made her decision. She wanted to go outside.

"Yes." Christine took the offered arm, and the pair walked off down the hallway.

They continued through the convoluted halls of Hellsing manor without speaking. Alucard stared straight ahead, guiding Christine through various twists and turns. Christine watched him out of the corner of her eye, noticing also that there were no others in the great space. His red overcoat trailed behind him slightly, buoyed by the breeze of his brisk movement.

The whole thing seemed vaguely dreamlike, as though it were ghost leading her. It seemed the opposite of her experience with the 'Phantom' of the Opera Populaire. He introduced himself as an intangible creature, and as he led her down the cold passageways she recognized him as a mortal man. Alucard, though claiming to be a vampire, nonetheless called himself a creature of flesh and blood. Walking beside him in the bright halls, only the light touch on her right arm assured her that the apparition beside her was real.

The feeling subsided when they reached a set of doors. Each was three times as wide as a person, made of carved and polished African Blackwood. Fringes of the door were decorated with scenes of heaven and hell alike. At the top of the door, an odd sentence was carved: "We will not give up and despair, we are on a mission from God." He let go of her arm and pushed open one door, standing beside it with one arm outstretched in invitation.

She stepped out into a lightly clouded night. The moon was at little more than half strength, and the clouds seemed to take pleasure in blocking its waning form for as long as they could before being pushed off by invisible winds. Trees whispered their nocturnal song, while plant bushes and beds danced slowly and sinuously.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

She stepped past Alucard, and heard the door close behind her. A light pressure landed between her shoulder blades, guiding her past manicured hedges and carpets of delicate flowers, to an area that seemed slightly wilder. The plants here menaced her with glinting thorns, yet tempted her with fragrant blossoms. Morning glories grew like webs between the rose bushes, and a large acacia stood in the middle. There was nothing but clear ground between the roses and the tree, not even a single blade of grass.

Christine walked forward until she was near a rose blossom. As she reached for it, she thought about Raoul, and the fact that he had never given her another rose after the fiasco with Erik…

Raoul. Home. The thoughts distracted her, and she touched a sharp thorn instead of a soft bloom. Blood welled up on her finger.

Alucard stepped forward, took her hand, and kissed the bleeding fingertip. "You should go back inside."

Christine merely nodded. She felt as though she were floating in some kind of fog, though the world had seemed so clear only moments ago. She couldn't even keep track of the trip back to her room, and was mildly surprised when Alucard opened her door. She stepped inside and turned around.

Alucard was standing in the doorframe. "You never told me your name."

"Christine."

His gentlemanly parting bow was offset by the sly look in his eyes as he turned and walked away.

Christine didn't even bother closing the door. She went to bed, fully dressed, and was asleep in moments.

* * *

Christine was clothed in a dress made of dark grey mist. The thick vapor swirled around her feet as she moved, and tendrils clung to the grass under her bare feet. A large orb was in the sky, giving out a strange light, but she could not tell if it was the sun or moon, or some strange combination of both. Constellations moved slowly across the sky, drifting like clouds. Creatures of all types, built from stardust: Eagles, dragons, foxes, phoenixes, walking or flying past the unknown orb and off the edges of the horizon.

Everything was green grass, as far as Christine could see, except for a distant green-red wall. She moved toward it, the mist following like a bride's train.

As she drew closer to the wall, she could see it was a thick mass of roses. Black thorn-covered branches crossed themselves into a lattice that let nearly nothing through, leaving only small gaps through which she could peak through. She lowered her eye to one, as close as she dared.

Beyond the wall was a figure, clad in bright white, with brown hair cut in the fashion of French nobility…

"Raoul!"

The figure turned toward her and smiled. It was indeed Raoul, and he was waiting for her. She had to get to him. Heedlessly, she pushed against the morass of roses. Thorns tore at her arms, blood seeping into her misty clothes. She continued her attempts, until the blood flowed from her face, arms, torso and legs, leaving a puddle on the floor. The rose branches had not moved, and she could still see Raoul smiling behind them.

Christine was about to try again, but a hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her back. It was Alucard, and as he pulled her closer to him the dress began to stick close to her skin, turning a satin red from the blood flowing underneath. The color deepened until it match the vampire's own deep shade.

Alucard started a slow waltz, while Raoul called out to her from the other side of the roses. She only heard him with half an ear. Alucard's presence made her feel as though her head was filled with the same mist that surrounded her. Raoul was calling her name, and her blood was staining Alucard's strange white gloves, but neither of the dancers noticed.

Christine did notice, however, when a figure in black somehow emerged from the roses. White porcelain glinted in the odd light, and a rope hung from white-gloved hands.

Erik advanced on the dancers. Christine watched, unsure whether or not she should warn her partner. Alucard noticed her distracted glance just as Erik slipped the noose around his neck.

The noose tightened. Alucard tried to glance over his shoulder, but otherwise seemed unconcerned. He pulled a knife from one of the pockets of his red coat, and reached up to cut the rope. The blade cut easily, but also left a slice in Alucard's neck. The wound did not bleed, and closed in moments.

Alucard turned to face Erik, who drew his sword. Alucard's knife grew into a sword to match Erik's. Christine stood, terrified, as the two fearsome men engaged in combat, turning up the gentle turf into thick mud.

As the battle continued, the combatants matching sword thrusts, Christine heard a rustle from the rose wall. Raoul had made it through, battered and worse for wear. He gave Christine a reassuring smile before plunging headlong into the fight.

Alucard barely looked at the young man, sparing only a moment to bring him down. Almost too quick for the eye to see, Alucard slashed Raoul from shoulder to hip and continued his battle with Erik. The quick footwork soon brought them away from Raoul's body.

Christine rushed over to check on him. The cut was unbelievably deep; it had pierced through Raoul's sternum and cut his heart in two. He had been dead before he even started falling.

The red and black warriors continued, oblivious to Christine wailing over the massacred body. No one noticed as Christine's own wounds slowly let out her life. The last thing Christine heard before death was the never-ending sound of swords clashing.

* * *

Christine was cold when she awoke; she had kicked the covers of the bed in her sleep. The door still stood open. She rose up, closed the door, made the bed, and stood looking at it. Should she try to go back to sleep, even after such a frightening dream? She considered it, but instead picked up a book and sat in a velvet chair. Perhaps she could make herself forget.

_**IMPORTANT**_**: Due to heavy loads of coursework, the next chapter will most likely be posted during Fall Break, around mid October. That sucks, and we're sorry, but college is important, so bear with us! Almost a month isn't as bad as 2 years, at least.**

**Saku-Chan: I'll need to rewatch and/or read PotO, so I can add description on that side. As for Hellsing, the first manga doesn't have much background design in or around Hellsing manor, so I took that as an invitation to make up whatever I wanted. As is, I wanted to start another chapter before too much time went by. We'll try to catch the elusive plot bunny (which may have had babies in the last two years) and keep on it this time. Or at least I will. Mika-Chan?**

**Mika-chan: Holy crap, that chapter brought back memories of us writing in your basement. ^_^ I think it's great! Especially the conversation between Christine and Walter.**

**I suppose this should be a good time to mention that I am no longer under the username of XFamousXLastXWordsX, but am now Follow-The-Firefly. So if for some reason anyone wants to look me up, don't use the first one. You shan't find anything. ^_^**

**Right! So I'll be writing the next chapter as soon as I can get a grasp on how I think it should go forward…with Saku-chan's input, of course. And as a quick note, I should mention that updates (from me, at least) may be rare. I have five classes (many of them upper-level English classes), a campus job and am involved with four clubs. By the time I do get time to write, I'm usually so exhausted that I can't actually do so. I'll try my hardest to get it written in a timely manner, but that's just an update on why I might be taking forever and a day for updates.**

**And if you enjoy this story, please review and let us know! Or if you don't like it, review anyway and let us know what we can do to improve. And no flames, please. Flames will be ignored for something more worth our time. **

**So my last quote was **_**Follow**_** by Breaking Benjamin and mine for this chapter shall be "I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you tonight." **

**Saku-Chan: My quote for today:**

"**I'm more than happy in my candlelight, how strange (how strange) that you should come to my dominion. In the middle of the darkest night, how strange (how strange) that you should even try."**

**Long, but fitting isn't it? Actually, if you don't know or find it, you should listen to it when I say what it is next chapter. It is not only an excellent song, but the lyrics all apply to various parts of the story.**

**Sakura Neko-Chan 13 x Follow-The-Firefly**


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